His experience will likely help him become acclimated to his new position and duties more quickly than someone who had never worked in municipal government, said Mayor H.G. "Hap" Harrington, who urged Driver to run for the position.

It also will give him a wealth of background knowledge about the city when he is making decisions, he said.

"Warren comes into the scene already in step," Harrington said. "There is no time lapse in learning what is going on."

As a councilman, Driver said he would like to keep the city on the path it has been taking.

"I want to support progressive and stable municipal government, and that involves voting on issues when they arise, giving guidance to staff, trying to have a vision for the community and coming up with a good strategy to achieve that vision" Driver said. "I think a lot of that is already in place, so it's a matter of maintaining the momentum we already have."

Harvey, his opponent in the election, commended Driver for keeping his campaign positive and free of slurs.

"It was a good clean race," Harvey said.

Driver will serve out the remainder of Stovall's three-year term, which expires in May 2005. Stovall , a five-year councilman, died May 10 of a heart attack. The city's charter requires a special election rather than appointing someone to the post or leaving it open until the next regular election.